CBI report in Aircel-Maxis case may have been leaked

An unsigned draft of a CBI status report in the Aircel-Maxis case was recovered from the Jor Bagh house of the Chidambarams in the national capital when ED officials searched it on January 13 in connection with their probe into money laundering charges in the Aircel-Maxis matter, an official said.

indiaUpdated: Feb 09, 2018 10:35 IST

Rajesh Ahuja and P Suchetana Ray Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Former finance minister P Chidambaram arrives to address the media at his residence after ED raids, at Jor Bagh in New Delhi.(PTI File Photo)

Portions of a draft status report on the Aircel-Maxis case prepared by the Central Bureau of Investigation may have found their way into the hands of P Chidambaram and his son Karthi Chidambaram before they were filed in the Supreme Court in 2013, officials familiar with the development claimed.

P Chidambaram was finance minister at the time. Hindustan Times couldn’t ascertain the contents of the portions of the draft report.

An unsigned draft of a CBI status report in the Aircel-Maxis case was recovered from the Jor Bagh house of the Chidambarams in the national capital when Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials searched it on January 13 in connection with their probe into money laundering charges in the Aircel-Maxis matter, an Enforcement Directorate official said, asking not to be identified.

Following the recovery, ED wrote to the CBI seeking confirmation on the nature of the document recovered, the official said.

According to this person, the federal investigating agency has now confirmed that the document was part of the draft that found its way into the final status report that was submitted to the top court.

“We found an unsigned draft of what we thought was a CBI status report in the Aircel-Maxis case. We immediately sent it to CBI for vetting,” added the ED official.

CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal confirmed the development : “We have received information from ED, and the matter is being looked into.”

Chidambaram declined comment. CBI’s probe into the AircelMaxis case was being monitored by the Supreme Court and the top court sought regular status reports from the anti-corruption agency.

Chidambaram and his son Karthi are under scanner of the CBI and ED in the Aircel-Maxis case.

The CBI is looking into the corruption aspect of the case while ED is probing money laundering charges in the matter.